MLB Player News

Merrifield went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Monday's 2-1 win over the White Sox.

Merrifield's sixth-inning blast provided the Royals' margin of victory. It was his first long ball since July 8, though he knocked five doubles in 12 games between homers. The 33-year-old has maintained a .240/.290/.352 slash line with six homers, 42 RBI, 51 runs scored and 15 stolen bases through 95 contests. Merrifield continues to hit leadoff versus southpaws, but he's lost his spot atop the lineup against right-handed pitchers -- that belongs to MJ Melendez for now. Merrifield's instead hit second the last four times the Royals have faced a righty.

The Red Sox acquired Valdez and Wilyer Abreu from the Astros on Monday in exchange for Christian Vazquez, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

Valdez broke out this season and became one of Houston's top prospects, so he's a nice pickup for Boston. A 23-year-old lefty-hitting infielder, Valdez slashed .327/.410/.606 with 21 home runs in 378 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A. Even if Valdez doesn't debut this season, Boston will need to add him to the 40-man roster this offseason to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.

Julien is batting .292/.436/.494 with 12 homers, 12 steals and a 66:81 BB:K through 74 games for Double-A Wichita.

While Julien is still striking out a fair amount, he's balanced that out with a walk rate north of 20 percent, which has helped him put up some of the best OBP numbers in the minors across the last two seasons. Julien has also found his power stroke recently, smashing five homers in his last 10 games -- a stretch in which he's also hit .324 with a 10:7 BB:K. It's also noteworthy that the 23-year-old Canadian has spent almost the entire 2022 season at second base; last year, he made appearances at first, second, third and left field, but it seems the Twins are no longer grooming him as a jack of all trades. Of course, that also means that he's blocked by Jorge Polanco for the time being.

Miller (forearm) is starting Monday against the Diamondbacks.

Miller was scratched from Sunday's lineup due to a forearm bruise, but he'll be back in action a day later. Over his last four games, he's gone 4-for-16 with a double, three runs and two RBI.

Bowman was traded from the Yankees to the Athletics on Monday along with Ken Waldichuk, JP Sears and Luis Medina in exchange for Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino, Jack Curry of YES Network reports.

The lone hitter in the return heading to Oakland, Bowman is an older second baseman from the college ranks who boasts premium speed. The 22-year-old righty hitter has a .217/.343/.355 slash line with eight home runs, 35 steals and a 97:55 K:BB in 80 games at High-A.

Ortiz was named the Eastern League Player of the Week on Monday.

Ortiz earned the honors with an impressive week against Double-A Altoona. He his .519 (14-for-27) with three home runs, four doubles, 11 RBI and nine runs scored in six contests. The shortstop prospect has put together an alright campaign to date, slashing .258/.314/.416 with nine homers, 48 RBI, 43 runs scored and a stolen base through 87 games.

The Rangers promoted Acuna from High-A Hickory to Double-A Frisco on Monday, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.

Acuna will move up a rung on the minor-league ladder after slashing .317/.417/.483 with eight home runs and a 28-for-34 success rate on stolen-base attempts across 240 plate appearances at Hickory. The 20-year-old has received exposure to both middle-infield spots this season but is still expected to be developed primarily as a shortstop as he makes the move to Frisco.

Frazier went 2-for-4 with a walk and a run in an extra-inning loss to the Astros on Sunday.

Frazier did a nice job setting the table out of the top of the order, reaching safely for the seventh straight game in the process. The veteran outfielder's .244/.304/.312 slash line remains very much a work in progress, but Frazier's batting average is now at its highest point since June 7.

Altuve went 2-for-3 with a stolen base, a walk, a hit-by-pitch and a run scored in Sunday's 3-2 extra-inning win over the Mariners.

Altuve was plunked in the first inning, then moved to third on a Yuli Gurriel single. Gurriel then initiated a double-steal, and Altuve was able to dart home for the opening run. This was the second baseman's fourth steal in July and his ninth in 10 attempts this season. He's added a .273/.362/.506 slash line, 19 home runs, 37 RBI, 57 runs scored and 19 doubles through 86 contests.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Hernandez (hip) felt good after swinging a bat Saturday, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Taking swings represents the first meaningful activity for Hernandez since he required a platelet-rich plasma injection shortly before the All-Star break to alleviate pain in his right hip. Hernandez is expected to steadily ramp up his activity in the days to come, and Cora said the goal is for the 30-year-old to make his return from the 60-day injured list at some point in August.